The boss that hovers and second guesses; who answers for you in meetings. The one who blames you when things go wrong, and takes the credit when everything goes right.

When it comes to the people we work for, there’s not a lot we can do to change their bad behavior––especially when they fancy themselves just as they are.

But what we can do––what we have a duty to do––is to make sure that we don’t let the people around us––especially the ones above us––turn us into someone we have no desire to be. You may not be able to change them, but you most certainly have the power to make a claim for yourself; to choose who, and how, you will be.

And who knows? Maybe over time, a little bit of your goodness will manage to swim itself upstream.